I am new here and a simple beginner's question.

I have got a sorce code file of Microsoft's Quickbasic program.
But I do not have a Quickbasic interpretter nor compiler
. And Microsoft seems  not to put any Quickbasic in the market
any more.

So what products are available for edit and check this program
as an interpretter and for compiling it?

I have found some names in this NG such as PowerB, FB. Could
someone give me a brief review of them if those are the products
I can use?

Thanks in advance.

powerbasic v3.5 (www.powerbasic.com) will run you about $150US but, IMHO, is
well worth the $$. FirstBASIC costs $25US. Both of these are NOT 100% QB
compatible so you'll end up having to do some tweeking to your existing code.
As you're a novice, this may prove a bit daunting. Then, if your existing code
accesses MODE 13 graphics you'll have to use PB and link to a 3rd party
library which, in turn, will cause MORE tweeking.

QB 4.5 can be purchased, still, from a few venders. (You've gotten answers on
this one already.)

If this isn't a one-shot deal and you'll be needing a compiler for more than
one project then PowerBASIC is your natural choice as it is current, modern,
and richer than the other two.

C'ya,

  ____    _    ____      ____  _____
 |  _ \  / \  / ___) __ | ___)(_   _)
 | |_)  / _ \ \____\/  \|  _)   | |
 |____//_/ \_\(____/\__/|_|     |_|

     www.basicguru.com/schullian

|>
|> I have got a sorce code file of Microsoft's Quickbasic program.
|> But I do not have a Quickbasic interpretter nor compiler.
|> And Microsoft seems  not to put any Quickbasic in the market
|> any more.
|>
|> So what products are available for edit and check this program
|> as an interpretter and for compiling it?

Depending entirely on what features it uses, your source code may
or may not be compatible with any other compiler or interpreter.

There is an interpreter called QBasic, made by Microsoft, and
available for free from their website. If you are running a
computer with Windows95, or any version of MSDOS from v5.0
or later, then QBasic may already be on your machine, or on
your original installation CD. I believe it would be in the
CD's directory called /olddos.

QBasic is very nearly compatible with QuickBasic v4.5. However,
if your source code uses CALL INTERRUPT, or requires the user
to select command line parameters, QBasic will not run your code
without modification. QBasic cannot compile your code at all.

The FirstBasic compiler may or may not compile your code without
modification. But, it is very nearly compatible with QB45. It
is shareware, and can be downloaded for evaluation purposes from
http://www.powerbasic.com. Registration is US$25.

The PowerBasic compiler may or may not compile your code without
modification. It is a very powerful commercial compiler with many
more features than QB45, and it costs US$150, plus US$26 shipping
overseas. If you plan on doing much DOS BASIC programming, it is
probably worth the money. If you visit their website, look at
their other products, too.

It is still possible to buy the QuickBASIC compiler, both new
and used. I believe Eric Engelmann has already directed you to
his web site where used copies can be purchased. It can be
purchased new from Provantage at http://www.provantage.com.
The Provantage price is US$110. I do not know the shipping cost.

A word of warning. Even QuickBasic v4.5 may not compile your
code, if your code depends on outside libraries that are not
in your possession. If your code uses CALL INTERRUPT, be sure
to load QB with the /L option.

--
Brian McLaughlin, Technical Writer  |"Thanks to the Internet, misinformation
Integrated Measurement Systems, Inc.| now travels faster than ever before!"
Beaverton, OR, USA                  | ---- Standard disclaimer applies ----

- Thomas Daugaard